F is for……Faith or Belief?

Do I have a Faith or a Belief?  Do I follow a Belief or a Faith?  Is it a Belief system or a Faith in?

To be honest, these questions have come up for me while working on myself over the past few years.  I feel I have grown so much recently that there just can’t be anymore to room to grow….but I constantly find there always is.  Many of my Self-Discovery/Motivational books I read talk about Faith and Belief.  Having belief in yourself enough to make things happen, and having faith that what you Will into your life will appear.

I’ll be honest though, these two words escape me much of the time.  They are very difficult for me to discern, separate.  By definition, they are SO VERY SIMILAR that I tend to want to use them interchangeably.  But they are different words, aren’t they?, with different meanings, huh?  Why else would they have two separate entries….right?

(from Webster’s dictionary online)

Definition of FAITH

1 a : allegiance to duty or a person : loyalty

   b (1) : fidelity to one’s promises (2) : sincerity of intentions

2 a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion

   b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust

3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs       <the Protestant faith>

— on faith

   : without question <took everything he said on faith>

Definition of BELIEF

1  : a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing

2  : something believed; especially : a tenet or body of tenets held by a group

3 :  conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon especially    when based on examination of evidence

The more I struggle with the meanings and the differences in them, the more I realize you cannot have one without the other.  In my understanding of the two, you cannot have Faith without Belief.  Nowhere in the definition of Belief is there a need of Faith, but in the definition of Faith you must already hold a Belief.

 

Religiously speaking, belief would be the unwavering “trust”, infallible “knowing” that God/Spirit is there and will always be there; the state of mind that makes God/Spirit real to you.  But faith is the loyalty you have to God/Spirit even when you cannot hear them, see them, touch them, or even feel them.  Faith is the conviction you have that no matter the circumstances, you will always stand your ground.

I think it was very well explained on this blog I visited:

“What is belief? It is a principle, proposition, idea that is accepted as true; opinion, conviction; religious faith; trust or confidence. What is faith? It is the confident assurance in the character and nature of God; a strong or unshakeable belief in something, without proof or evidence.”……..“My faith says that God is good no matter the outcome of my situation. I believe that God can save the day. I believe that He can work miracles. My faith says that whether or not I follow Him will not be dependent on things working out to my benefit. It says that I will follow Him no matter what.”

It takes a belief to hold faith.

Belief in yourself is just as important; before you can have faith in yourself and always hold true to you…you must have a strong belief in who you are.

Once you are convinced or have conviction of who you are, then you can build the faith needed to always be your best friend and get out of your own way when it comes to building your dream life.  The hardest part of this all is finding the CORRECT beliefs about you.  It’s not an easy task…I know.  I’m not writing out my ass here, I’ve been there, I’ve walked it and I’m walking it still.  Believing in yourself actually is a very easy task; but it is the positive constructive, supportive beliefs that are so difficult to dig out and hold on to.  When you have the negative belief structure of who you are, you will always have faith in yourself to do no better than be the negative person you have grown to believe in.  Once positive and loving beliefs are put in place, then no matter how bad of a day you are having or how shitty things are in you life, you will always remain faithful in the fact that you are a gloriously wonderful person.

I chose this topic because faith is not just about religion or spirituality.  Faith is about you and the love you have for you. Just as the blogger stated …..“My faith says that God is good no matter the outcome of my situation.”, your faith should say that you are good no matter the outcome of your situation.

Learn to hold a great value and belief in you, the same you hold for your deity/ies; and so have faith in your inherent good and beauty just as you have faith in your God/s, or else you would not follow them so lovingly and loyally.

Bibliography;

nhamil75, blogcritic.org, Faith vs Belief,  http://blogcritics.org/culture/article/faith-vs-belief/

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/belief

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/faith

 

Fighting to be scared, or running from my strength?

For years I’ve said I want to do this, or I’m going to do that, or that I “plan” on or “am going to” do this that or the other. But I never do. Why? Fear. Fear is always the answer to this endless cycle of great ideas gone DEAD.
What am I afraid of? Success. Failure. Meeting goals. Not meeting goals. Putting myself out there. Being judged. Being liked. Not being liked. Getting my way. Not getting my way. See the pattern here? Get the idea?

My biggest setback really isn’t taking action….because I can take action all day. Ill jump into almost anything or any idea head first. It’s the follow through that is so critically lacking for me. I’ll get started on whatever new adventure I am going on, then, right at the moment when things will waver this way or that is when I give up. My self-confidence folds. My fear and struggle set in. Where I got this nasty little trait I have no idea. All through high school and even younger grades I was hardcore, head down, run things over like a maniac to get them done type of person. I wasn’t the most popular. I wasn’t well liked. But I kept my head in my books, and my eye on my sports and all was alright. Even though it hurt terribly to not be accepted in school, I numbed my feelings and masked my pain by excelling in everything I put my mind to.

As an adult, I am severely lacking in those proponents that made me Me back then. I guess I could place blame on the jerks and asses that were “mean” to me back then or for them tearing me down when what I needed was a pat on the back, or simply a friend. But I just can’t.
I’m an adult now. I’ve been through more trials and tribulations than I want to count. I’ve lived a whole nother life or two since I was in school. So how could I blame my current condition on something that happened to me over 15-20 years ago? I don’t feel I can. I can only blame myself, really. All those trials and tribulations I mentioned; well, I made it through them pretty ok. I’m sitting here writing this entry which would be proof enough for me. I grew from them. I’ve changed over the years. I usually came out on top in a better place and situation than I was in before I walked those shadows of hell.

So, why the continued lack of confidence and fear? I really am not sure. Maybe it’s my insatiable need for perfection. I can be a bit of a perfectionist. Not OCD type, but definitely a perfectionist. If I feel as if it can’t be done to my expectation of “perfect” then I give up. Or, if I fear that my “perfection” won’t meet another’s perfection, I give up. Or if I feel my idea won’t stand up to expectations of the World….you got it….I give up.

The last year or so I’ve worked very hard on changing that, and I have made some HUGE headway. I’m on a great roll now on doing what I want the way I want without “outside” interference. 2012 was a progressive year for me, from beginning to end. My hope is that 2013 is an even MORE PROGRESSIVE year yet and that I continue on this road of …….

                    Fighting off My Fear and Running Toward my Strengths.